Rescued by Calvin McLoughlin from a would-be subway attacker, Holland Bakker pays the brilliant musician back by pulling some of her errand-girl strings and getting him an audition with a big-time musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until he admits his student visa has expired and he’s in the country illegally.

Holland impulsively offers to wed the Irishman to keep him in New York, her growing infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves from awkward roommates to besotted lovers, Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway. In the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting, what will it take for Holland and Calvin to realise that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?

Roomies had a couple tropes I was excited for – a fake relationship and roommates falling in love and boy did they do them right! Holland is a little unsure of who she is and who she wants to be and I immediately connected to that. She is a little quirky and awkward but also loves big and selflessly. She’s been going out of her way to watch a man play the guitar in the subway station, secretly crushing on him, and when an opportunity opens up for a musician on the Broadway show she works for, she knows just who should audition. One problem, Calvin is in the US illegally. In a daring move she hopes solves the problem for her uncle, the music director of the show, as well as for Calvin, she offers to marry him so he can stay and do the show. A relationship with him will only be fake, right?

Right away I loved the dynamic between Holland and Calvin! She was trying so hard to keep things platonic with Calvin, the line blurring between what was real and what was pretend. But it was obvious Calvin was seriously interested in the potential for real. He was so swoony with his Irish accent and sweeping Holland right off her feet. They were fun, funny, and sweet with each other. Of course there are all sorts of issues that arise between them, adding a good helping of angst to all the romance and fun the story provided. But I love that besides the romance at play, there was this theme of Holland wanting to break out and be her own person, to discover who she is and what she wants for her life. And I wanted that so much for her. She has this great family support with her uncles that added that family dynamic I adore in my reads which only made me love the story more!

All in all, another solid book by these authors. I cannot wait to read more from them!

About Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/besties/soulmates/brain-twins Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced fourteen New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)

8 Responses to “Review: Roomies by Christina Lauren”

Christina Lauren have been killin it recently, and I know I am going to read this book (one of these days). I adore fauxmances, and add in an Irish accent and great family, and I am all in. Great review!Sam@WLABB recently posted…Discussion: I’d Read That!

I’m glad you enjoyed this Sara! Roomies was the first book I read by Christina Lauren, and I read it last month. My library, luckily, has Love and Other Words, so I think I’ll be reading that soon as well. Like you mentioned, I love that their was focus on the romance but also Holland’s independence! I don’t know if you know, but their upcoming release, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, is available on NetGalley and I highly recommend it! 🙂Genni @ Ready, Set, Read! recently posted…BOOK REVIEW | Everless by Sara Holland

Oh boy… fake relationships and roommates to lovers are something I’m a sucker for as well when it comes to tropes. I’ve been seeing nothing but good reviews about Roomies, so I’m really glad you enjoyed reading it as well!Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts recently posted…Using Habitica for Book Blogging: Gamify Your Blogging (and Life)

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DISCLAIMER

In accordance to the FTC guidelines, I must state that I make no monetary gains from my reviews or endorsements here on Forever 17 Books. All books I review are either bought by myself, won, or received in exchange for an honest review.